The man with all the comic timing of the Bay of Pigs Invasion

Yes, our very own, very dear Prime Minister:

"Poor Gordon Brown," a senior official in the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, "he just happened to visit Israel the same week U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to arrive and isn't receiving much attention." Indeed, visiting Israel on the same week that Obama is expected to arrive is like being the opening act for the Beatles.

There were few signs on the streets of Jerusalem yesterday that the prime minister of one of Israel's most important allies...For some reason, Union Jack flags were nowhere to be seen in the capital.

Brown's arrival is also in the shadow of the recent visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarah Brown may be a founding partner in a public relations firm and a supporter of charities, but she's no Carla Bruni". Thanks to Haaretz.com for the extract.

Shades of his disastrous trip to the US when he was, unsurprisingly, overshadowed by the Bishop of Rome. Don't the idiots in his office ever check diaries and the like?